6 Marketing Tactics

The single objective of the marketing program is to position V-Guard as the premier
refrigerator stabilizer brand in the country. The marketing program will seek to
create newer customers in states like Delhi, Jharkhand, Andhra pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh also churn customers from existing stabilizer manufacturers. Specifically, V-
Guards marketing program is composed of the following approaches to product,
pricing, distribution and communications.

Product
Several of the V-guard’s market findings suggest that there is demand for the
refrigerator stabilizer manufactured by the company owing to their reliability factor.
This in addition to the customer perceptions about the Thermal protection and
voltage fluctuation protection provided by the company’s products result in V-guard
refrigerator stabilizers to be market leaders.

Pricing
Pricing is an important element of every marketing mix. The V-guard company
should choose strategic choices when pricing the products to successfully achieve
business objectives. Pricing is the only element that generates revenue while the
other three elements represent costs.
The pricing of V-Guard stabilizers is in the premium price market focusing on
product reliability and product differentiation rather on cost differentiation. The
pricing the product was higher than that of the competition at ₹ 1350 for stabilizer
under 300ltr and 2137 for stabilizer above 300 ltr. The MRP of other brands were
approximately 280 -300 ₹ cheaper than V-guard.

Distribution
V-Guard currently sells its products primarily through the classic Wholesaler
Retailer Channel with about 175 distributors catering to 7,000 retail dealers across
the country. Upon considering the data from the table about -distributor system of
V-guard, we can conclude that the majority of its sales comes from the states with a
larger number of distributors.

Linear
relation
between
sales and
number of
distributors
 Thus, it would be advisable to increase the distribution spend on increasing number
of distributors in these states

Communications
The message that V-Guard will seek to communicate is that it offers the best-
designed, most ergonomic and most reliable refrigerator accessory. This message
will be communicated through various channels.
The first will be TV and online content, which will provide a rich source of
information on offer by the product. A lot of time and money will need to be invested
in the website and TV ad campaigns with the perception of professionalism and
utility for V-guard products and services.
The second will be print media, which will provide a rich source of information on
offer by the product. V-Guard can make use of advertising in numerous industry
magazines. The electronics industry is supported by several different glossy
magazines designed to promote the industry as a whole. In addition, a number of
smaller periodicals serve the smaller market segment within the electronics
industry.

7. Financials

Sales Forecast:
2008-09 2009-10 2010-2011 2011-2012
Product Amount Amount Amount Amount
Stabiliser 97 122 166 200
Growth 25.77% 36.06% 20.48%
 Gross sales (in crores)
Based on the case facts, the stabilizer market has witnessed a growth of about 20%
during the last few years. Assuming a relatively com3parable growth of 22% over the
years 2012-13 and 2013-14

the sales forecast is as follows.

2012-13 2013-14
200*(1+0.22) = 244 244*(1+0.22) = 297.68
Projected sales (in crores)
Expenses forecast:

Particulars % of MRP Amount

Variable Cost 35% 472.5
Fixed Cost 8 108
Profit for OU 6 81
Distribution Margin 6-10 135
Dealer Margin 12-15 202.5
Excise 10 135
Profit for company 15-20 270
MRP 100% 1350

8. Contingency Plan

In the above case, we have done the situational analysis, SWOT analysis, objectives
and issues, the target market, product positioning, the financials, the marketing and
communication tactics. Since the market is ever changing and as a marketeer some
or the other challenge always comes up, we’ll try to solve the issue with the use of
our strong customer base, product quality and value proposition. V-Guard has been
in the market since 1977 and has created an image for itself.
As a marketeer we’ll be rolling out a number of marketing campaigns so as to engage
the customers and to make them feel connected. A contingency plan will be
incorporated in a marketing campaign if need be.